Sometimes I wish I lived in the City...

(Comment: I've not been posting my adventures recently. It's not that I haven't had any advetures lately, but rather that they've been such a common occurance, that I haven't had time to share them!)

Ok, I'm almost a city girl, but not quite.

Today we picked up the car from being serviced. While it was "routine maintenance", it did cost $1,400. The price of just maintaining a vehicle, sometimes seems expensive.

If I were completely a city girl, and relied soley on public transportation/pedestrian/bicycle, we wouldn't have to maintain our vehicles!

However, I think living without a vehicle would be quite a challenge!

(For instance, it's easier to pile kids in the van and go on errands than it would be just have an adventure getting there.)

History Repeats itself TWICE in the past 2 days...

The advantage of having a super-sized washer machine, is that one can actually do decent sized loads (A big plus considering how much laundry this family of six goes through).

THE DISADVANTAGE of having a super-sized washer-machine, is that IT USES A LOT OF WATER. And, when do we realize this? WHEN IT OVERFLOWS.

Case 1: laundry scoop gets bumped into utility sink (causing overflow, water on the floor): slight flood.

Case 2: laundry hose gets jostled out of the utility sink - CAUSING MAJOR HAVOC, ruining storage items,etc.

Lessons 1: Never get lazy and skip the "check the utility sink" step before leaving the laundry area.

Lesson 2: Don't leave clean laundry on the floor by the dryer, when water overflows, it stops being clean. There's nothing frustrating like rewashing laundry before it ever gets worn!

Lesson 3: Don't leave cardboard storage boxes on the floor (assemble shelves and get off the floor!)

Lesson 4: Don't put off cleaning the basement area.

Lesson 5: Water is tough enough to clean up, but SUDSY water is even worse...

Lesson 6: Next time you buy a wet/dry vac, don't try to be cute and cheap and get the smallest (apartment-sized) unit. Small unit needs to be emptied almost as fast as it gets filled up.

Lesson 7: Don't let kids go into basement unsupervised when there are puddles in the basement. (How can a kid resist jumping in puddles--- making MORE laundry dirty??

Lesson 8: Buy a laundry line for outside: it would be nice for all drying to not rely on the dryer.

Lesson 9: It's better to have a "flood" in spring weather, when you can open windows and air everything out.

Lesson 10: Beware of tax time, something always happens!

Aquarium & Walrus sights

When school lets out early for a half day, shouldn't it be a fun day?

After noon dismissal, we piled in our vehicle, stopped by the gas station (Although I should get used to it, at $3.39, it felt a tad expensive, until we saw $3.45 later in our trip!)

Surprisingly, I didn't get a "mom where are we going" until we had been driving for 30 minutes. (It did help that each child in the back seat was given a sandwich to eat lunch while I drove). That was changed to a "OH, are we going to the AQUARIUM?" (It's been 9 months since we've been, but smart kids recognize landmarks!).

We had a blast!

The advantage of going OFF SEASON is that there are no crowds. It was a pleasant day, and we had plenty of space to view the aquatic life at our leisure.

Not only did I enjoy it (I could look at fish, and keep four kids in eyesight, and be the closest adult to all my children), but the children did as well! Our three year old enjoyed having the freedom to walk. (Too often, for crowd control, the stroller with seat-belt is mandatory). Our Four year old had fun being detective and finding what was in each tank. Our six year old, actually practiced reading! I think the "hogfish" was the most fun to read.

Brooklyn's Walrus family was, of course, one of the highlights of the trip. (We got to see the Daddy Walrus eat!).

We were brave enough to go into the shark exhibit (pretty cool!) The sharks looked tame with a giant sea turtle swimming with them.